W123 230 and 230E - whats the petrol economy?

[B13]

(No I'm not thinking of getting rid of my 6.9, just the cost of petrol and home loan interest rates are starting to put a dent into my spare "race car" money, and I'm interested in hearing about something a little more frugal.)

After seeing James May drive a 230E across Botswana last week I'm starting to warm to the idea of a 4-cyl MB. But only if the fuel savings are there... so does anyone have a 230 (carb) or 230E (EFI) W123 and whats it like?

I know the logical choice for an economical MB is a W116 280S or SE, but by all accounts I can't expect more than 15mpg (going on R&T review in the 1970s), which is only 2mpg better than a 450SEL (R&T review, 1973) or my 6.9 (R&T review, 1977).

Next car which springs to mind would be the 280 / 280E, but since it has the engine/trans as the W116 and just less weight, whats it going to be good for... maybe 16-17mpg ?

(At this point I should mention I don't like non-turbo diesels, so that rules out the 240D and 300D.)

Looks like the 4cyl W123 comes as 200, 230 and 230E. If anyone would care to comment on either of them I'm all ears. Anything around 20mpg city and 25mpg hwy would appeal. Either that or get a (bites-his-tongue) 190E...

I.

 

[Des]

I currently have a W123 1977 230
and have owned a W123 1982 230E

Some thoughts:

--The 230 chews through petrol like it is going out of fashion, $20 of unleaded gets you about 60-70k's max!
$40 at $1.59 a ltr recently in ours got 125k's, full tank is gone at 300k's,

--The 230 is the older model, the engine is carried over from the W114 range, so at highway speeds you get that loud engine roar, the 230 is quite capable of doing well over the speed limit but it is a slow car to drive, even compared to a 280, it is slow and the fuel consumption is worse than a 280 model car. I have had my 230 up to 150K's per hour, and she still had more to go. Not bad for a car that was only supposed to do 160 from the factory.

--The 230E we had was a really lovely car to drive, extra 30HP from the improved engine, was smooth to start, idled nicely, you could tell the difference in the power, just less stressed when you put your foot down.
Can't remember what the fuel consumption was like sorry. It would have been better than the 230.

--the 250 I owned, again better fuel consumption than the 230.


--From my experiences with carby Benzes they never run as well as a fuel injection cars. they are always missing, "poofing" banging, hard to start, run rough, splutter, stalling, vibrate or any and all combinations of the above, especally in the cold, they seem to prefer warm weather.


If you want a W123, from someone that has owned 4 of them, buy a 280E, from 1983 onwards, better rust protection, better factory options, better headlights, better sound proofing, better.. etc.. etc.

 

[116Benz]

123? 230E? Economy you say? yes, the 103 engines have been in the family 3 times (123, 124 & 201) the 123's are pretty good on fuel, between 10-11/100km. 190E's were about 1100kg's they scored between 8-10l/100. If you must have a 190E, try and pick a post 85, the 1st years didnt have hydraulic tappets, and dont get a 180E, they're gutless and drink more than the 2.0. Oh and you can find a rare manual 190E officially delivered to Australia too.

 

[Des]

Ian if you want a cheap car to run around in, buy a VW Golf

They are the best little car around, Full stop end of sentence.

Cheap to run, drive like a go-kart, cheap as chips on fuel, safe, German built excellence. They are so cheap to buy, we paid $400 for our 1977 model, apart from the services, oil change and a new steering box she has been so a reliable little car. 1.6ltr motor pulls better than a 280E, feels like you are driving a race car.


You can pick mid 1990's models up for a few grand, go and at least take one for a test drive, I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

 

[B13]

So.... The carby 230 and 280 W123 are the gas guzzlers I need to keep a mile away from, but the 250 carby engine (the later model engine) is OK and so is the 230E as long as its the later model 1983 onwards?

I still don't believe a 280E will get much better economy than a 280SE, but at least its got heaps of power.

Might have to go find some to test drive.

Thanks for the info on the VW golf Des, but its missing the all-important (to me) three-pointed star, even though I do know they go very well and cost bugger all to buy.

Thanks everyone.

Ian.

 

[Des]

mate I had a W123 250, engine is a reworked version of the engine carried over from the W114 range, electronic ignition is one thing that pops up as being added to it.

The 250 is a rare car here in Australia due to the fact that it is an older technology and when new priced very close to the 280,

while it was slighty more powerful than the 230, there was not much difference, didn't seem too bad on the fuel, but didn't really take too much notice of it.



I think the 250 was dropped when the 230E was introduced around 1982.